Nigel Davies

Wales Caretaker Coach 2007

Played 1, Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 1*

*Figures relate to performance in charge of capped Wales international matches

Nigel Gareth Davies joined the Wales Coaching set-up under Gareth Jenkins as Backs / Attack Coach. Davies won 29 caps for Wales after making his debut in the 1988 test match against New Zealand.

Following the departure of Jenkins at the end of the 2007 Rugby World Cup Davies took over as Wales's Caretaker Coach for the inaugural Prince William Cup match against South Africa on 24th November 2007. His sole outing in the Wales hot seat produced a loss but saw him select a youthful side which more than punched their weight against the World Champions, making Gethin Jenkins Captain and handing a debut to Morgan Stoddart at fullback.

The former centre scored five Test tries and made his last international appearance against England in 1997. A one-club player, he appeared in a record nine Welsh Cup finals for the Llanelli, hanging up his boots after the 1999 Cup final against Swansea.

Born in Llanelli on 29th March 1965, he joined the Llanelli coaching staff in May 1999 and with Gareth Jenkins stayed at Stradey Park as the move to regionalism saw the creation of the Scarlets region. Davies was on the coaching staff when the Scarlets won the 2003-2004 Celtic League.

In Janary 2008, Davies left his post with the National Squad to become the WRU's Head of Rugby Development bringing to his new role a rugby pedigree which sets him apart from many of his contemporaries in the global professional game. He is a former international centre who went on to coach his country while also securing industrial and commercial experience outside the game which have honed his management skills.

As a player of undisputed skill he played 498 games for Llanelli becoming one of only 21 players to have scored more than 100 tries for the Scarlets where he also played in a record nine Welsh Cup finals, winning six. He played 29 times for Wales and earned the rare honour of captaining his country as well. In the 1993-1994 season he played in the championship winning Wales team. During the same season he was a key member of the Llanelli team which won the treble of the WRU Cup, the Welsh league and beat the then World Champion Australia touring team.

After retiring as a player he began a coaching career in which he rose to become Head Coach of Wales for the November 2007 fixture against South Africa in Cardiff. That career began at Llanelli where he helped develop 25 players who eventually became full Welsh internationals. At Llanelli he worked as attack coach alongside the Head Coach Gareth Jenkins and helped the Scarlets earn a top four ranking in Europe. With Nigel's help the Scarlets reached four European quarter finals in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2004 and two semi's in 2000 and 2002. They were Welsh Cup winners in 1998, 2000 and 2003 and Welsh Cup finalists in 1999 and 2002. In 1999 and 2002 they were Welsh League Champions and won the WRU Challenge Cup Trophy in 1999.

Alongside his developing rugby career Nigel also achieved success in the business after graduating as a mechanical and production engineer. He worked in the automotive sector and was head of a department of engineers testing the quality of hi-tech products for top of the range cars. Then he used the skills and experience he gained there to become a management consultant working for major industry across the UK. That work involved researching and analysing management structures within high profile businesses to modernise and improve systems and procedures. The consultancy work has helped develop his expertise as a senior rugby coach involved in assessing and changing methods quickly and effectively.